# Bank for International Settlements (BIS)
The international organisation owned by central banks — the "bank for central banks".
Live page: https://www.webcentive.com/bis/bis.html
News: https://www.webcentive.com/2026/todayhub/today_in_bis_news.html

## What the BIS is
There is only one BIS. It is not a commercial bank. It is owned by 63 shareholding member central banks that together account for about 95% of world GDP ([bis.org](https://www.bis.org/about/organisation/members)).

## Offices and Innovation Hub centres
- Headquarters: Basel, Switzerland
- Representative Office for Asia and the Pacific: Hong Kong SAR (1998)
- Representative Office for the Americas: Mexico City (2002)
- Innovation Hub centres (bis.org): Frankfurt/Paris (Eurosystem), Hong Kong SAR, London, Singapore, Stockholm (Nordic), Switzerland (Basel and Zurich), Toronto. NYIC at the New York Fed is a strategic partnership, not a Hub centre.

## History
- **1930** — Founded under the Hague Agreements to handle German WWI reparations under the Young Plan; opens in Basel on 17 May 1930. Oldest international financial institution. ([source](https://www.bis.org/about/history/timelines))
- **1939–1945** — During WWII the Board suspends meetings; the Bank continues limited technical work. Controversies later arise over wartime gold dealings. ([source](https://www.bis.org/about/history/timelines))
- **1944** — Bretton Woods Conference votes to liquidate the BIS "at the earliest possible moment". The resolution is never carried out. ([source](https://www.bis.org/about/history/timelines))
- **1948 onward** — Post-war focus shifts to European reconstruction and central-bank cooperation; the Bank becomes the standing meeting place for central bankers. ([source](https://www.bis.org/about/history/overview))
- **1988** — Basel I (Basel Capital Accord): first international bank capital standard from the Basel Committee hosted at the BIS. ([source](https://www.bis.org/committees/bcbs/history))
- **2004** — Basel II: revised capital framework with three pillars (minimum capital, supervisory review, market discipline). ([source](https://www.bis.org/committees/bcbs/history))
- **2010** — Basel III: higher capital standards announced after the Great Financial Crisis. ([source](https://www.bis.org/committees/bcbs/history))
- **Today** — The "bank for central banks": banking services for central banks, host of the Basel Process committees, statistics, research and the BIS Innovation Hub. ([source](https://www.bis.org/about/index.htm))

## Official BIS resources
- [bis.org](https://www.bis.org/) — Bank for International Settlements homepage — the bank for central banks. X: @BIS_org
- [bis.org](https://www.bis.org/media/news) — Official BIS press / media releases. X: @BIS_org
- [bis.org](https://www.bis.org/speeches) — Speeches by BIS management and central bankers. X: @BIS_org
- [bis.org](https://www.bis.org/publications/aer) — Flagship Annual Economic Report. X: @BIS_org
- [bis.org](https://www.bis.org/statistics) — BIS Data Portal and international banking / financial statistics. X: @BIS_org
- [bis.org](https://www.bis.org/committees/bcbs/overview) — BCBS: Basel capital and supervisory standards (hosted by the BIS). X: @BIS_org
- [fsb.org](https://www.fsb.org/) — FSB: G20 financial-stability coordination (secretariat hosted by the BIS). X: none found
- [bis.org](https://www.bis.org/committees/cpmi/overview) — CPMI: payments, clearing and settlement standards. X: @BIS_org
- [bis.org](https://www.bis.org/about/innovation-hub/overview) — BIS Innovation Hub centres for central-bank tech experiments. X: @BIS_org
- [bis.org](https://www.bis.org/about/history/archive) — BIS Historical Archive. X: @BIS_org
- [bis.org](https://www.bis.org/about/history/bis90) — BIS 90 Years exhibition / museum-style history. X: @BIS_org

## Independent explainers
- [en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_for_International_Settlements) — Independent encyclopedia overview of the BIS. X: @Wikipedia
- [federalreserve.gov](https://www.federalreserve.gov/) — U.S. central bank; BIS shareholding member and frequent partner on Innovation Hub work. X: @federalreserve

## BIS member central banks

### Africa
- [bank-of-algeria.dz](https://www.bank-of-algeria.dz/) — Bank of Algeria. X: none found
- [bkam.ma](https://www.bkam.ma/en) — Bank Al-Maghrib. X: none found
- [resbank.co.za](https://www.resbank.co.za/) — South African Reserve Bank. X: none found

### Americas
- [bcra.gob.ar](https://www.bcra.gob.ar/en/) — Central Bank of Argentina. X: none found
- [bcb.gov.br](https://www.bcb.gov.br/en/) — Central Bank of Brazil. X: @BancoCentralBR
- [bankofcanada.ca](https://www.bankofcanada.ca/) — Bank of Canada. X: @bankofcanada
- [bcentral.cl](https://www.bcentral.cl/en) — Central Bank of Chile. X: none found
- [banrep.gov.co](https://www.banrep.gov.co/en) — Central Bank of Colombia. X: none found
- [banxico.org.mx](https://www.banxico.org.mx/indexEn.html) — Bank of Mexico. X: @Banxico
- [bcrp.gob.pe](https://www.bcrp.gob.pe/en) — Central Reserve Bank of Peru. X: none found
- [federalreserve.gov](https://www.federalreserve.gov/) — Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. X: @federalreserve

### Asia-Pacific
- [rba.gov.au](https://www.rba.gov.au/) — Reserve Bank of Australia. X: @RBAInfo
- [pbc.gov.cn](https://www.pbc.gov.cn/en/3688006/index.html) — People's Bank of China. X: none found
- [hkma.gov.hk](https://www.hkma.gov.hk/eng/) — Hong Kong Monetary Authority. X: none found
- [rbi.org.in](https://www.rbi.org.in/home.aspx) — Reserve Bank of India. X: none found
- [bi.go.id](https://www.bi.go.id/en/) — Bank Indonesia. X: none found
- [boj.or.jp](https://www.boj.or.jp/en/) — Bank of Japan. X: none found
- [bok.or.kr](https://www.bok.or.kr/eng/main/main.do) — Bank of Korea. X: none found
- [bnm.gov.my](https://www.bnm.gov.my/) — Central Bank of Malaysia. X: none found
- [rbnz.govt.nz](https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/) — Reserve Bank of New Zealand. X: none found
- [bsp.gov.ph](https://www.bsp.gov.ph/) — Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. X: none found
- [mas.gov.sg](https://www.mas.gov.sg/) — Monetary Authority of Singapore. X: @MAS_sg
- [bot.or.th](https://www.bot.or.th/en/home.html) — Bank of Thailand. X: none found
- [sbv.gov.vn](https://www.sbv.gov.vn/webcenter/portal/en/home/sbv) — State Bank of Viet Nam. X: none found

### Europe
- [oenb.at](https://www.oenb.at/en) — Central Bank of the Republic of Austria. X: none found
- [nbb.be](https://www.nbb.be/en) — National Bank of Belgium. X: none found
- [cbbh.ba](https://www.cbbh.ba/) — Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina. X: none found
- [bnb.bg](https://www.bnb.bg/?toLang=_EN) — Bulgarian National Bank. X: none found
- [hnb.hr](https://www.hnb.hr/en) — Croatian National Bank. X: none found
- [cnb.cz](https://www.cnb.cz/en/index.html) — Czech National Bank. X: @CNB_cz
- [nationalbanken.dk](https://www.nationalbanken.dk/en) — Danmarks Nationalbank. X: none found
- [eestipank.ee](https://www.eestipank.ee/en) — Bank of Estonia. X: none found
- [ecb.europa.eu](https://www.ecb.europa.eu/home/html/index.en.html) — European Central Bank. X: @ecb
- [suomenpankki.fi](https://www.suomenpankki.fi/en/) — Bank of Finland. X: @SuomenPankki
- [banque-france.fr](https://www.banque-france.fr/en) — Bank of France. X: @banquedefrance
- [bundesbank.de](https://www.bundesbank.de/en) — Deutsche Bundesbank. X: @bundesbank
- [bankofgreece.gr](https://www.bankofgreece.gr/en/homepage) — Bank of Greece. X: none found
- [mnb.hu](https://www.mnb.hu/web/en/) — Central Bank of Hungary. X: none found
- [cb.is](https://cb.is/) — Central Bank of Iceland. X: none found
- [centralbank.ie](https://www.centralbank.ie/) — Central Bank of Ireland. X: @centralbank_ie
- [bancaditalia.it](https://www.bancaditalia.it/) — Bank of Italy. X: @bancaditalia
- [bank.lv](https://www.bank.lv/en/) — Bank of Latvia. X: none found
- [lb.lt](https://www.lb.lt/en/) — Bank of Lithuania. X: none found
- [bcl.lu](https://www.bcl.lu/en/) — Central Bank of Luxembourg. X: none found
- [dnb.nl](https://www.dnb.nl/en/) — De Nederlandsche Bank. X: none found
- [nbrm.mk](https://www.nbrm.mk/) — National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia. X: none found
- [norges-bank.no](https://www.norges-bank.no/en/) — Central Bank of Norway. X: none found
- [nbp.pl](https://www.nbp.pl/en) — Narodowy Bank Polski. X: none found
- [bportugal.pt](https://www.bportugal.pt/en) — Banco de Portugal. X: none found
- [bnr.ro](https://www.bnr.ro/) — National Bank of Romania. X: none found
- [cbr.ru](https://www.cbr.ru/eng/) — Central Bank of the Russian Federation. X: none found
- [nbs.rs](https://www.nbs.rs/en/) — National Bank of Serbia. X: none found
- [nbs.sk](https://www.nbs.sk/en) — National Bank of Slovakia. X: none found
- [bsi.si](https://www.bsi.si/en) — Banka Slovenije. X: none found
- [bde.es](https://www.bde.es/wbe/en/) — Bank of Spain. X: @BancoDeEspana
- [riksbank.se](https://www.riksbank.se/en-gb) — Sveriges Riksbank. X: @riksbanken
- [snb.ch](https://www.snb.ch/en/) — Swiss National Bank. X: none found
- [bankofengland.co.uk](https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/) — Bank of England. X: @bankofengland

### Middle East
- [boi.org.il](https://www.boi.org.il/en/) — Bank of Israel. X: none found
- [cbk.gov.kw](https://www.cbk.gov.kw/en) — Central Bank of Kuwait. X: none found
- [sama.gov.sa](https://www.sama.gov.sa/) — Saudi Central Bank. X: @SAMA_GOV
- [tcmb.gov.tr](https://www.tcmb.gov.tr/wps/wcm/connect/en/tcmb+en) — Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye. X: none found
- [centralbank.ae](https://centralbank.ae/en/) — Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates. X: none found